Monthly Archives: September 2011

Anyone remember that 240 Bi-Color LED Video light I showed a while back? (old video above) Well, included with the light was this interesting little AA battery case adapter, that adapted to a Sony NP style fit. If you've got anything that runs off of those common Sony style batteries, this little case comes in quite handy as a backup solution. Grab a set of AA's from your corner liquor store and power up your LCD Monitor, LED Lights, or wherever else you can fit this thing. It's now available separately following the link (click here).

First posted in an earlier article, this particular Mini Rig is still a fairly new product. A tough one to find in the USA let alone the UK. Sometimes going under the description 'MagicRig'. There's a video along with some comments from a few people were able to grab these in that first article. For now, a few more Magic Rig mini shooters are available again shipping from the UK (click here)

For those just looking to support your basic DSLR setup, the 701HDV + Tripod over at B&H is a pretty sweet lightweight setup. Over at Amazon, this same setup runs you about $269. Sure the Amazon package comes with a useless monopod - not worth it. With the current rebates offered over at B&H you can get this very professional fluid head setup for around $184. Yeah, that's a pretty nice price you won't even find over at eBay. Olivia touched a bit on the 190XDB Aluminum tripod in the middle of this video (below).

Here's the kicker if you're reading this today (Sept 27th). With the Upcoming Rosh Hashanah, B&H will close tomorrow. So if you want to get your orders in, you've got until tomorrow morning for normal processing, otherwise you'll have to wait it out until Oct 2nd. OH WAIT! Here's another kicker. That rebate will expire before Oct 2nd To qualify your receipt should have an earlier date. Don't worry, you'll have until Oct 31st to send it in. I'd get on this one...

Upcoming Rosh Hashanah Closing B&H SuperStore and Offices will close Wednesday, September 28, at 1:00PM EDT through Sunday, October 2, at 10:00AM EDT.

The B&H SuperStore and offices will close at 1:00PM EDT on Wednesday, September 28, in observance of Rosh Hashanah and will reopen on Sunday, October 2 at 10:00AM EDT.
All Standard Shipping orders placed before Wednesday, September 28, at 7:00AM EDT and Rush Shipping orders placed before Wednesday, September 28, at 10:30AM EDT will be processed normally. Orders placed after the above times will be processed when we reopen on Sunday, October 2nd.
Online ordering will be unavailable from Wednesday, September 28, at 6:30PM EDT through Saturday, October 1, at 8:00PM EDT.
We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patronage.

There's been a few announcements of Sachtler's latest Ace fluid head + tripod, and it's finally available for pre-order. What's all the buzz about? Well Sachtler tripod systems normally run several thousands of dollars. In fact, just a pan bar alone for a Sachtler Fluid head could run you well over $300 dollars. So it's surprising that this new Sachtler Ace Tripod system is as affordable as Manfrotto gear. With all of the incredible shrinking video cameras, my guess is Sachtler will stay in this space and produce more affordable systems going forward. There's just too much they're missing out on by staying overly high end.

When you've got yourself a fairly long slider (usually over 4ft.), it will often require one very very heavy tripod, or two simple lightweight stands. There's also a few sliders that ALWAYS require two stands, like JuicedLink's latest DIY slider. Rod's DIY solution is to use a single ironing board that is quick to setup, can adjust to various heights, fold flat, and is dirt cheap. [Thanks Rod] Keep note that you'll probably require some level ground as each corner is not adjustable.

If you're concerned about aesthetics, another cheap solution that mimics the same folding and height adjustment features as an ironing board is a musicians keyboard stand (as found below).

Shared in the comments from YouTube member 3puncte, here's some 1080HD examples from the latest Canon SX40 HS. Still suffers from fast panning rolling shutter, but that 35x Zoom feature and Optical Image Stabilization is amazing stuff [Thanks Alex]. Some questions I have still - I can see the camera has manual exposure compensation, but can it do full manual shutter and aperture adjustments in video mode? Manual focus in video mode? Does this camera support live view output to an external monitor? Just curious, if anyone can answer those questions. I'd also love to start seeing some slow motion examples of that 240fps video in use too. Available in stock over at B&H Photo (click here), or via Amazon (click here)

The Sony HX9V is an amazing point and shoot HD video camera shooting 60fps even in full 1080HD. One thing I was looking forward to most this past summer was the ability to take it underwater. A bit late for my California Summer water activities, but still exciting news for other parts of the world where snorkeling, scuba, and maybe white water rafting activites never cease.

This little HX9v camera fits perfectly in situations (like underwater) where the manual controls are still accessible through mechanical buttons. You'll still be able to access all camera functions in the Ikelite Polycarbonate casing rated at a depth of 200' (feet). Other cameras moving towards touch screen controls would fail to use housings like this.

Unlike cheap plastic underwater camera bags, the Ikelite housing can also accept Ikelite Filters (for Color Correction). Would be a good housing to take the camera above sea level too in GoPro situations of dirt, mud, rain, sleet, and snow (albeit more expensive). Additional images of the Ikelite and specs all available following the link below.

Anyone catch the new CarrySpeed non-permanent NeoPrene swivel LCD mount to hold a View Finder? If you're not digging the Sticky Frame solutions, or the Quick Release Frame solution, then another option is this Swi-View. It slides in place over the LCD and held snug with a bit of velcro. Shown on a Canon 60D, but pretty much the same LCD as on the Canon T3i, so it should be compatible. Found via Amazon (click here) or via eBay (click here)